


Waiting

by shippingisprobsmyjob007



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmates, ghost - Freeform, narration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 13:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14403228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shippingisprobsmyjob007/pseuds/shippingisprobsmyjob007
Summary: If a soulmate dies, the other has to keep seeing them until their own time is up. It is not a common occurrence, usually both die at the same time. But life was never fair to Sehyoon.





	Waiting

 

Sehyoon didn’t need to wait for the phone call to know Byeongkwan was dead. He was in the restroom back at his office, lost in thought, when he heard him. Byeongkwan’s trembling voice calling out to him softly. _“Babe.”_

Sehyoon looked next to him to see Byeongkwan who was smiling softly, but, he couldn’t trick Sehyoon: that was the same smile Byeongkwan had whenever he broke something Sehyoon cherished a lot, or whenever he had bad news for him but wanted to make the blow less intense. Sehyoon knew that smile even though Byeongkwan didn’t use it that often. It was a smile full of despair, sadness, and fear. Sehyoon could read it then. He knew. He stopped washing his hands and extended one towards Byeongkwan. He hesitated but stretched his hand too, unsurprised when it didn’t touch. He didn’t feel anything, just saw it go through Sehyoon’s who retracted his. He acted quickly then.

He grabbed his things from his desk and without saying a word he walked out of the building and practically ran to his apartment. Upon walking in, followed by Byeongkwan silent figure, he knelt and screamed. Anguished tears ran down his face and he had no power to even try to control them. He ran around throwing things, making Byeonkgwan flinch even though most of them would go through him anyways. It lasted for so long that the apartment was practically destroyed when Sehyoon finally received the call from the hospital. He didn’t pay much attention but he did figure out some details… _“riding his bike,” “bus driver didn’t see him on time,”_ and _“was gone upon arrival.”_ As soon as the call was disconnected, he crashed the phone against the wall, right towards a framed picture of him and Byeongkwan at a fair. Byeongkwan stood next to him, trying to comfort him but not being able to touch him. It was consuming him whole. It started to become worse as the minutes passed feeling like hours, and Sehyoon kept crying and looking at nowhere in particular, not even daring to look at Byeongkwan. If he had been alive, if he had a body, he was sure he’d feel so nauseous and dizzy at the sight but, of course, if he were alive, there would be no reason for Sehyoon to be laying down on the floor of their living room hugging his legs trying to become small enough to disappear.

Usually, when a soulmate dies they never do so alone. Their companion will die alongside them sometimes in a painful way, sometimes in a peaceful sleep; it was how their world worked. However, there were few exceptions, some instances where one of a pair passes and the other remains living. It’s not only losing their soulmate what hurts, it’s that they must live with their spirits alongside them until their time is up. It wasn’t as comforting as the universe, or whoever decided this to be the way of things, had planned. Byeongkwan was there, next to him, but Sehyoon could not hold him in his arms and make sure he knew everything would be alright. Sehyoon got the cruel end of the bargain and he wasn’t sure what was the correct way to deal with it.

He remembers that day so well that it felt as if he was living it at all times. Every morning waking up he’d look over to Byeongkwan who would be pacing around the room. They would forget their circumstances and smile brightly at each other and try to link their hands but it never worked. A bitter laugh would leave Sehyoon’s lips and he would just nod at Byeongkwan, no words being exchanged. Byeongkwan would follow Sehyoon everywhere, though he never dared to speak of break his concentration to not anger him. For weeks after burying Byeongkwan’s body, Sehyoon lived but didn’t feel alive. The days passed by meaningless, and though Byeongkwan remained close to him, he never spoke to him. The house was so silent that Byeongkwan sometimes wished he could die again and leave for good so that the draining, dark energy of their apartment wouldn’t affect him.

Byeongkwan respected Sehyoon’s silence until, one day, he realized Sehyoon wasn’t glowing. He had no way to describe it, but he could see Sehyoon fading. Everything around them remained the same, so Byeongkwan began to worry and, in an attempt to fix whatever was wrong with Sehyoon, he began to annoy him as best as he could. He wanted him to pay him any attention.

“Hey. Hey, honey? You added too much salt to that pot. It’s gonna be so salty. Just like you. So salty. Sehyoon. Sehyoon! Sehyoon!” Byeongkwan began.

“It’ll be fine,” Sehyoon answered, momentarily forgetting he had a plan in mind. Ignoring Byeongkwan long enough he would leave. Maybe then it would hurt less to know he was right next to him but he couldn’t even see the light behind his eyes.

“No, it will be too salty! Sehyoon! Sehyoon… Sehyoon please, it’s been weeks. Talk to me.” When no response was given, Byeongkwan began to sob. “Sehyoon, I can’t leave. I have to remain here and you know it too. Will you ignore me forever?”

“As long as it’s needed,” Sehyoon responded. He hadn’t looked over to Byeongkwan but his sobs became louder and he felt his heart twitch. He turned around and sighed, tears forming in his own eyes as he looked at Byeongkwan. “I wish I could wipe them away,” Sehyoon started, trying to keep his composure. He pointed at Byeongkwan’s face. “I wish I could hold your face and kiss them away. I wish I could hold your hand and let you squeeze mine as you try to keep your breathing in check. I wish I could hold you…” Sehyoon took a deep breath as his voice cracked, his body shaking, “It was too soon! It shouldn’t have been that way!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Byeongkwan sobbed. “I know it was too soon. I had so many plans. I wanted to do so many things with you and I don’t get to do them now! I know! Sehyoon, I know it’s frustrating! And it hurts. But you know what hurts the most?” Byeongkwan’s cries had turned into full blown screaming. It could’ve alerted the entire neighborhood the way his voice was at a loss of control and his breath hitched in anger, “That your soulmate just ignores you! For weeks I get to see you barely living. You still have your life within you. And you have me here but act as if I wasn’t here at all! You won’t talk to me, you haven’t even asked how I am doing? You wanna know how am I doing? Terrible, Sehyoon! I am a ghost! I am the sad remain of a life! Left behind because you are still here. And you won’t even look at me for more than ten seconds!”

“Byeongkwan,” Sehyoon started but Byeongkwan raised his finger.

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m ranting, Sehyoon. I am losing my mind! I am losing my composure and then I look at you today and…” Byeongkwan shuts and looks away.

“And what?” Sehyoon asks. Byeongkwan doesn’t want to say, that Sehyoon seems to be looking less alive. More so than the last few weeks. He didn’t have an answer for it, so he thought it’d be silly to worry him about it.

“And… And I just can’t help but want you to _look_ at me and talk to me!” Byeongkwan half lied. He looked at the floor, like he did any time he did something embarrassing or waited for Sehyoon to scold him.

“We are a mess,” Sehyoon says, turning around and continuing preparing his food. Byeongkwan looked at him confused, a little hurt he could only see his love’s back. “We should watch a movie tonight,” Sehyoon said. Byeongkwan’s face lit up, a small smile forming on his lips. “Your pick.”

That was how normalcy settled between them. Slowly, Sehyoon began to look at Byeongkwan more, to talk to him. He would laugh at things Byeongkwan would say. He would roll his eyes when Byeongkwan complained he couldn’t make any object move with his mind.

_“But if I could I would be able to torment that neighbor that always called the cops on us!” Byeongkwan complained._

_“I’m gonna have to give it to them honey, you really were loud.”_

_“And whose fault was that, may I ask?”_ That would always be the end of the discussion. Sehyoon would blush loudly and throw whatever he had in hand towards Byeongkwan who would stick his tongue out and boast about how he couldn’t feel pain.

However, every passing day, Byeongkwan noticed that Sehyoon didn’t look like himself. He couldn’t describe it and the one time he did bring it up, Sehyoon told him he was going insane because he, in fact, looked perfectly fine. As weeks passed, Byeongkwan saw as Sehyoon looked less and less bright and was almost a bad, pale copy of his soulmate. But Sehyoon insisted he was alright, and even asked a coworker while Byeongkwan hung around his office who confirmed that Sehyoon, physically, looked perfectly fine.

Sehyoon had been taking a nap in their bed. Byeongkwan had left because he wanted to see the neighbor’s dog. He was excited because the dog could see him, and even if he couldn’t feel his soft fur, he could run around the apartment with the dog chasing him. Suddenly, he felt a tightening of his chest, and he could not move. For a few seconds, the puppy looked at him full of worry as his tail wagged less and less. Byeongkwan began to cry, for the first time in months he felt pain and it was excruciating. However, after a few seconds, he began to feel a warm sensation wrapping him inside and he ran towards his apartment, afraid of what was going on. He found Sehyoon standing on the hallway, a bright smile on his face.

“Is everything okay, Sehyoon?” Byeongkwan asked. Sehyoon shrugged and walked towards Byeongkwan. He stretched his arms and hugged him tightly. He then grabbed his face and gave him a long kiss. And Byeongkwan began to sob loudly on Sehyoon’s neck as he held him tightly: he felt. He felt it all.


End file.
